20th-Ranked Johns Hopkins Upsets No. 11 Virginia

After trailing 7-4, Virginia tied the game, 8-8, on a free position shot from Caroline McTiernan (Sr., Garden City, N.Y.) with 4:23 remaining in the game.

McTiernan had a chance to give UVa the lead with just under a minute and a half remaining. With Hopkins' goalie trying to stall and send the game into overtime, Maddy Keeshan (Jr., Greenwich, Ct.) smashed the goalie's stick, causing a turnover. She picked up the ground ball and dished to McTiernan who took a shot, but Cosette Larash came up with a save. McTiernan drew a foul right in front of the goal after the shot to earn a free position opportunity with 1:07 left in regulation. Larash corralled the shot for her 14th save of the game. After the save, Hopkins retained possession and raced up the field, getting the clear. The Blue Jays' Taylor D'Amore found Jenna Reifler in front of the net, scoring with 19.5 seconds left on the clock.

Lelan Bailey (Sr., Millersville, Md.) won the ensuing draw control, but ended up turning the ball over before the Cavaliers could get down on the attack, with Hopkins securing the 9-8 upset victory.

"I thought we had great momentum in the end of the second half," said head coach Julie Myers. "I thought Hopkins played with their backs against the wall. We definitely had the momentum and the opportunities, but we failed to hit multiple shots. The eight meter tonight was not good to us."

The defeat was Virginia's fourth one-goal loss of the season. The Cavaliers dropped to 7-8 on the year while Johns Hopkins improved to 8-5.

The Cavaliers and Blue Jays traded goals through the first half until McTiernan scored on a free position shot two minutes after an unassisted goal from Dana Boyle (R-So., Londonderry, N.H.), giving Virginia a 4-3 lead.

Hopkins scored the final two goals of the first half to take a 5-4 lead into the break. They added two more goals to start the second half, putting the Cavaliers in a 7-4 hole with 24:50 remaining.

After Myers called a time out, Daniela Eppler (So., Baltimore, Md.) won the draw control, dishing the ball up ahead to Ashlee Warner (Jr.,Corning, N.Y.) who found McTiernan in front of the goal to cut the deficit by one just 11 seconds after the timeout.

A goal by Warner got the Cavaliers to within one, 7-6, when Hopkins scored to make it 8-6. Swan smacked the ball out of the goalie's stick, picked up the ground ball, and scored to once again pull to within a goal with 9:42 remaining before McTiernan tied the game five minutes later.

"It is really disappointing because I know this team has so much potential," McTiernan said. "We fought. We really did. We came up short, but we fought to the very last minute. I just wish the outcome could have been different."

McTiernan scored three goals, posting her first hat trick of the season and the third of her career. Swan and Boyle each finished with apair of goals. Swan also won five draw controls and had three ground balls. Keeshan caused four turnovers,

Virginia has one game remaining in the regular season. They will host Virginia Tech on Wednesday, April 17 at 7:00 p.m. on Senior Night with a special ceremony honoring the six fourth-years on the Cavalier squad.

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - Freshman Jenna Reifler scored just one goal, but it was the biggest of her young career, as her strike with just 19.5 ticks remaining put Johns Hopkins ahead 9-8 at 11th-ranked Virginia Thursday night.